Evolutionary Biologist (Ph.D)

I am a paleobiologist focused on developing and applying quantitative methods to investigate phenotypic diversity in vertebrate animals. I incorporate both high-dimensional morphometric techniques, computer vision, and interactive data visualization to reconstruct patterns of variation and co-variation. My academic research have been revolved around studying the origins of modern shark biodiversity, as well as the origins of shark morphological, behavioural, and ecological specializations. My research draws primarily on anatomical, fossil, and molecular data from across the shark crown group, and palaeontological evidence from its proximal stem.

PhD. Candidate, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology

Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden

2021 - 2016

• Thesis: 100 million years of shark macroevolution: A morphometric dive into tooth shape diversity
• Supervisor: Professor Per E. Ahlberg
• Opponent: Professor Matt Friedman
• Committee members: Laura Porro, Göran Arnqvist, Gilles Cuny

M.S., Earth Sciences

Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden

2016 - 2014

B.S., Earth Sciences

Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden

2014 - 2010

Postdoctoral researcher

Stanford University

California, United States

2026 - 2024

• Host: Professor Jonathan Payne

Postdoctoral researcher

University of Zürich

Zürich, Switzerland

2022 - 2021

Visiting PhD student

University of New England (Campione Palaeobiology Lab)

Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

2019 - 2019

Data Analyst

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Stockholm, Sweden

2024 - 2022

Science substitute teacher

International English School

Uppsala, Sweden

2021 - 2021

• Upper middle school

Museum host

Museum of Evolution, Palaeontology and mineralogy

Uppsala, Sweden

2016 - 2012

Animal Structure and Function (UU-17505)

Department of Organismal Biology

Uppsala, Sweden

2021 - 2016

• B.Sc. Course
• TA and lectured
• Dissection Labs of Vertebrates
• Covered comparative biology and histology

Evolutionary Patterns (UU-17521)

Department of Organismal Biology

Uppsala, Sweden

2021 - 2017

• M.Sc. Course
• TA and lectured
• Topics covered from geometric morphometrics, multivariate statistics and R programming
• Lectures and computer morphometric labs using R

Origin and Evolution of the Vertebrates (UU-18705)

Department of Organismal Biology

Uppsala, Sweden

2021 - 2018

• M.Sc. Course
• TA and lectured
• Covered shark biology, ecology and evolution, geometric morphometrics, multivariate statistics and R programming
• Designed a series of lab practicals on geometric morphometrics, data visualization, and statistical design and reporting

Marine Megafauna in deep time (BIO263)

Paläontologisches Institut und Museum

Zürich, Switzerland

2021 - 2021

• B.Sc. Course
• Guest lecturer
• Covered biodiversity and evolution of cartilaginous fishes

Thesis Supervision

N/A

Sweden & Tunisia

2020 - 2017

• Johan Lilja (Undergraduate Thesis, co-supervised with Dr. Nicolas Campione)
• Jacob Wester (Undergraduate Thesis, co-supervised with Dr. Nicolas Campione)
• Holger Jacobson (Master-Level Directed Studies Course)
• Mohamed Messai (Master Thesis, co-supervised with Professor Ferid Dhahri)

Peer Supervision

N/A

Sweden

2017 - 2015

• Fredrik Söderblom (Undergraduate Thesis, 2015)
• Alexander Paxinos (Graduate, Master Thesis, 2017)
• Jeroen van Dijk (Master-Level Directed Studies Course, 2017)

Wallenberg Postdoctoral Fellowship

$140 000

Sweden

2023 - 2023

• Research grant
• Stanford University

Verification for collaboration program (VFS)

$26 567

Sweden

2022 - 2022

• Research grant
• Co-applicant

Newton International Fellowship

$82 820

United Kingdom

2022 - 2022

• Research grant (Declined)
• University of Oxford

E och KG Lennanders stipendium

$32 756

Sweden

2021 - 2021

• Research grant

Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse

$2 075

Sweden

2021 - 2021

• Travel grant

Forschungskredit Postdoc Award

$84 397

Switzerland

2021 - 2021

• Research grant

Tullbergs f biol forskn

$9 827

Sweden

2020 - 2020

• Research grant

Johanssons, Inez

$9 135

Sweden

2020 - 2020

• Research grant

Department of Organismal Biology, UU

$1 092

Sweden

2019 - 2019

• Travel grant

Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse

$2 074

Sweden

2019 - 2019

• Research grant

Anna Maria Lundin stipendium

$4 258

Sweden

2019 - 2019

• Travel grant

Johanssons, Inez

$10 373

Sweden

2019 - 2019

• Research grant

Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse

$2 184

Sweden

2018 - 2018

• Travel grant

Johanssons, Inez

$8 189

Sweden

2018 - 2018

• Research grant

Anna Maria Lundin stipendium

$1 611

Sweden

2018 - 2018

• Travel grant

Kungliga Vetenskapsakademin, Stiftelsen J. A Letterstedts resestipendiefond, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

$2 839

Sweden

2017 - 2017

• Research grant

Johanssons, Inez

$10 574

Sweden

2017 - 2017

• Research grant

Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse

$1 965

Sweden

2017 - 2017

• Travel grant

Bjurzons resestipendium

$1 083

Sweden

2016 - 2016

• Travel grant

LIRE L’AVENIR DANS LES FOSSILES

l’Agenda Culturel

N/A

2022 - 2022

Decolonizing the Hunt for Dinosaurs and Other Fossils

The New York Times

N/A

2021 - 2021

Lesson of the Day: ‘Decolonizing the Hunt for Dinosaurs and Other Fossils’

The New York Times

N/A

2021 - 2021

Oförklarad hajdöd för 19 miljoner år sedan oroar forskare

SVT Nyheter

N/A

2021 - 2021

• Story on shark extinction 19 million years ago (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaz3549)

Mass Shark Extinction Triggered by Dinosaur Killing Asteroid

National Geographic

N/A

2018 - 2018

Modern Shark Family Diversified After Dinosaur Killing Impact 66 Million Years Ago

International Business Times

N/A

2018 - 2018

How fussy eating and changing environments led to the diversity of sharks today and spelled the end for megalodon

The Conversation

N/A

2021 - 2021

• Authored with Dr Nicolàs E. Campione

Mass extinction 66 million years ago paved the way for modern shark communities

ScienceNordic

N/A

2018 - 2018

• Authored with Professor Per Erik Ahlberg

Austral polar plesiosaurs reveal environmental interplay in ancient marine reptile evolution

Under-Review (copy available upon request)

N/A

2024 - 2024

• Research article
• Benjamin P. Kear, Mohamad Bazzi, Nicolás E. Campione, Daniel Madzia, Sven Sachs, Johan Lindgren and Michael S. Y. Lee

Cold-adapted Cretaceous polar turtle reveals a trans-Antarctic radiation of stem testudines

Under-Review (copy available upon request)

N/A

2024 - 2024

• Research article
• Benjamin P. Kear, Márton Rabi, Martin Kundrát, Michael S. Y. Lee, Daniel Snitting, Peter Trussler, Mohamad Bazzi, Barbara E. Wagstaff, Dorris E. Seegets-Villiers, Thomas H. Rich, Patricia Vickers-Rich and Lesley Kool

A unique example of the Late Cretaceous horseshoe crab Tachypleus syriacus preserves transitional bromalites

Alcheringa

N/A

2024 - 2024

• Research article
• Russell D. C. Bicknell, Mohamad Bazzi, Carl Meling, Anastasia Rashkova, Madeline V. Pankowski, Mark Botton, Carmela Cuomo

The famous fish beds of Lebanon: the Upper Cretaceous Lagerstätten of Haqel, Hjoula, Nammoura, and Sahel Aalma

Geological Society, London, Special Publications

N/A

2024 - 2024

• Research article
• Hady George, Mohamad Bazzi, Tamara El Hossny, Nida Ashraf , Pierre Abi Saad, Thomas Clements

Cautionary tales on the use of proxies to estimate body size and form of extinct animals

Under-Review (copy available upon request)

N/A

2024 - 2024

• Research article
• Joel H. Gayford, Russell K. Engelman, Phillip C. Sternes, Wayne M. Itano, Mohamad Bazzi, Alberto Collareta, Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, Kenshu Shimada

Endocast and Bony Labyrinth of a Devonian “Placoderm” Challenges Stem Gnathostome Phylogeny

Current Biology

N/A

2021 - 2021

• Research article
• You-an Zhu, Sam Giles, Gavin C. Young, Yuzhi Hu, Mohamad Bazzi, Per E. Ahlberg, Min Zhu and Jing Lu

Tooth morphology elucidates shark evolution across the end Cretaceous mass extinction

PLOS Biology

N/A

2021 - 2021

• Research article
• Mohamad Bazzi, Nicolás E. Campione, Per E. Ahlberg, Henning Blom and Benjamin P. Kear

Feeding ecology has shaped the evolution of modern sharks

Current Biology

N/A

2021 - 2021

• Research article
• Mohamad Bazzi, Nicolás E. Campione, Benjamin P. Kear, Catalina Pimiento and Per E. Ahlberg

Southern higher latitude lamniform sharks track mid Cretaceous environmental change

Gondwana Research

N/A

2021 - 2021

• Research article
• Mohamad Bazzi, Benjamin P. Kear and Mikael Siversson

Reassessment of a large lamniform shark from the Upper Cretaceous Santonian of Italy

Cretaceous Research

N/A

2019 - 2019

• Research article
• Gabriele Larocca Conte, Federico Fanti, Enrico Trevisani, Paolo Guaschi, Roberto Barbieri and Mohamad Bazzi

Static dental disparity and morphological turnover in sharks across the end Cretaceous mass extinction

Current Biology

N/A

2018 - 2018

• Research article
• Mohamad Bazzi, Benjamin P.Kear, Henning Blom, Per E . Ahlberg and Nicolás E. Campione

Late Triassic capitosaurian remains from Svalbard and the palaeobiogeographical context of Scandinavian Arctic temnospondyls

Geological Society, London, Special Publications

N/A

2016 - 2016

• Book chapter
• Benjamin P. Kear, Stephen F. Poropat and Mohamad Bazzi

Late Cretaceous dinosaurian remains from the Kristianstad Basin of southern Sweden

Geological Society, London, Special Publications

N/A

2016 - 2016

• Book chapter
• Stephen F. Poropat, Elisabeth Einarsson, Johan Lindgren, Mohamad Bazzi, Clarence Lagerstam and Benjamin P. Kear

Peer Review Service

Journals

N/A

2023 - 2018

• Norwegian Journal of Geology
• Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
• Current Biology
• Paleobiology
• Alcheringa
• Earth System Science Data (ESSD)
• Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

University of Arts, Crafts and Design

Stockholm, Sweden

N/A

2021 - 2021

• Host: Konstfack
• Artist talk with guests Bochra Taboubi and Dr. Mohamad Bazzi

University of New England, Armidale

New South Wales, Australia

N/A

2019 - 2019

• Host: Dr. Nicolás E. Campione

Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali

Bologna, Italy

N/A

2018 - 2018

• Host: Dr. Federico Fanti

Darwin Day

Stockholm, Sweden

N/A

2019 - 2019

• Public Outreach

SciFest - the Science Festival (Uppsala University)

Uppsala, Sweden

N/A

2016 - 2016

• Public Outreach

Annual Earth Science Day (swe, Geologins Dag)

Uppsala, Sweden

N/A

2015 - 2012

• Public Outreach

Hakel, Byblos, Lebanon

Expedition leader

N/A

2023 - 2020

• Locality age: Cenomanian-Turonian, Cretaceous
• Three field seasons

Gafsa Basin, Tunisia

Expedition leader

N/A

2020 - 2020

• Locality age: Ypresian, Eocene

Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

Crew

N/A

2018 - 2017

• Locality age: Campanian, Late Cretaceous

Kalbarri, Western Australia

Crew

N/A

2017 - 2017

• Locality age: Albian-Cenomanian, Cretaceous

Åsen, Kristianstad Basin, Southern Sweden

Crew

N/A

2012 - 2011

• Locality age: Campanian, Cretaceous

Software

• CorelDraw
• Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator

N/A

SQL for Data Analysis - Informationsbehandling med SQL

Nordic Forum for Information

Stockholm, Sweden

2023 - 2023

Academic Teacher Training Course

Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden

2019 - 2019

• 7.5 ECTS

Generalised linear (mixed) (GLMM), nonlinear (NLGLM) and general additive models (mixed) (GAMM)

PR Statistics

Glasgow, Scotland

2019 - 2019

• 3.0 ECTS

Scientific Writing

Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden

2017 - 2017

• 2.0 ECTS

Archeology

Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden

2011 - 2010

• 60 ECTS